


A (Bigger) Mars Family Vacation

by EllieBear, Irma66



Series: Into the Woods [2]
Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Camping Fic, Fluff and Humour, Original Characters - Freeform, family fic, family fun!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:07:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26473879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieBear/pseuds/EllieBear, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irma66/pseuds/Irma66
Summary: Many years after the Mars/Echolls clan go on their first camping trip, they return to the campground, with a couple extra family members in tow.  Sequel to: A Mars Family Vacation.
Relationships: Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars
Series: Into the Woods [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925182
Comments: 17
Kudos: 35
Collections: MazzyPalooza2020





	A (Bigger) Mars Family Vacation

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jmazzy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jmazzy/gifts).



> Our gift to you JMazzy! Thanks for organizing Trope-a-palooza 2020 and everything you do for our fandom. Hope you enjoy all the fluffy goodness we have created for you.

* * *

**Veronica**

* * *

When it was over, and Veronica had a chance to reflect on her mistake, she realized that she should have known it was going to be a debacle from the beginning. She blamed her stupidity on the fact that the kids were driving her crazy that summer, and she really, desperately needed to get them out of the house to do something...anything that didn't involve fighting over toys or television. As an only child, Veronica didn’t quite get the sibling dynamic of being best friends one minute and mortal enemies the next. And with work being incredibly slow that summer, she was witness to sibling arguments that ranged from the important (who broke the new water guns) to ridiculous (who ate the last Fruit Roll-up.)

Logan had always teased her about "returning to the scene of the crime" since seven-year-old Cordelia was accidentally conceived at the hotel they escaped to on their last trip. Six-year-old Inara followed almost a year later when Veronica mistakenly thought that she could breastfeed the first and not conceive a second. Logan often bragged about it being a result of his "super sperm"—Veronica just felt most days like it was one big joke of nature that they could have so much sex for so many years before her fertility switch magically flipped on in a big way. Which is why Logan was sent for a vasectomy soon after Inara's birth.

Since Grandpa Keith and Grandma Sandy still enjoyed taking off in their RV to occasionally wander the country, they knew many great places they could go—and had promised Logan and Veronica that when the kids were older, they would take them on their own to give the two a "break." But Logan had never really had family vacations growing up, and he was anxious to have the full experience with his.

Up until this point, their family vacations mainly consisted of all things Disney—Disneyland, Disney Resort, Disney Cruise. This was something else. This was the wild. And while she assured the girls there were no bears, she did wonder how they would do without the option to threaten that they would cancel the Disney Princess Experience for both of them if they didn't stop fighting.

* * *

**Logan**

* * *

Logan wasn’t sure why Veronica was suddenly so anxious to get everyone out of the house. With school out for the summer, he was the one at home with these girls on a day-to-day basis. Then he’d had to go out of town to a conference for a few days, and suddenly she’s screaming for a vacation.

He’d been expecting that to mean a trip to Disney World, but then Keith and Sandy let them know they were going to get the RV out and wanted to take the kids camping. Logan had only been camping that one time, and it hadn’t gone exactly as expected, but he had gotten his oldest daughter out of it, and, truth be told, his youngest was kind of a consequence of the oldest, so really, how could he not be a fan of camping? It made him a dad, and that was the most important thing he’d ever done. When he really thought about it, he didn’t understand why they didn’t camp more often. 

He wasn’t expecting Veronica to have such a strong reaction when he’d suggested they all go camping together, heading back to the old Kiwanis Camp. Turns out, she wanted Grampa and Gramma to take the girls so they could get in a little alone time, but by the time she shared that idea, it was too late to take it back. And really, Logan wanted to be there to see the kids experience everything for the first time anyway. Sandy had told them that she’d heard from an old friend of hers who still hosted at the camp that Lucas the Spider was still hanging around camp, and Inara had about gone crazy at the idea of meeting a giant spider. Cordy, well…not so much…but it wasn’t going to matter. Logan was certain. Camping with the family was going to be awesome.

* * *

**Veronica**

* * *

She was already exhausted when they pulled into their camping spot. Between the frantic excitement from the girls and the packing, Veronica was ready for a nap when they all piled into the Range Rover. Unfortunately, it was the girls that slept on the drive, which worried Veronica. They were both past the age of napping, and when they did, it usually meant they were up until midnight.

Mercifully, Keith and Sandy had arrived the night before, and the minute the girls saw their grandparents through the windows, they perked up.

“Grandpa! Grandma!!” Inara screamed and waved from the back seat, so loud that Veronica thought her eardrums would burst.

“Nara-bug, take it down a notch, okay?” Logan said calmly as he backed the car up into the spot, narrowly avoiding the picnic table. “Dad needs to think.”

“Sorry, Daddy,” the little blond girl whispered, then clamped her hands tightly over her mouth.

“When we get out, maybe you can ask Grandma and Grandpa to take you over to the park we saw when we were coming in?” Veronica stated. “Maybe take the sand toys with you?”

“I packed the sand toys first,” Logan said, placing the car in park and turning off the engine. “Which means they are the last thing out.”

“Okay. Scratch that, Cordy. No sand toys.” Veronica smiled back at her eldest daughter, the tiny spitting image of Logan, but with long brown hair. “But they have swings, and Grandpa can push you as high as you want.”

“Cool!” Cordy unbuckled her seatbelt and placed her hand on the door. “Can we get out?”

With a loud click, Logan unlocked all the doors and waved his hand dramatically. “Yes. Run free, my children! Be one with nature!”

Cordy squealed with excitement and threw the door open, launching herself down from the back seat. “Hey, Grandma! Hey Grandpa! Can you take us to that park over there?!”

“Don’t forget me!!!” Inara cried out, frantically struggling with her seatbelt.

With a sigh, Veronica exited the front and opened Inara’s door to find the girl trying to Houdini her way from the straps.

“Just be patient, please,” she murmured as she reached over and unlocked the clasp.

But patience was usually lost on their second-born, and she quickly slipped down onto the floor of the vehicle and squeezed herself between Veronica’s legs and out the open door.

“Grandpa! Grandma! Let’s race to the park!”

Keith laughed and caught his granddaughter in a big hug as she launched herself towards him. “I’m getting a little too old to race, but we can definitely go on a little walk there while your parents set up their tent.”

“Aaaannnd….” Sandy drawled, holding up her finger and swirling it around like a magic wand. “On the way back, we can stop at the main office and buy some popsicles. You both must be hot from the drive.”

“We are!” Cordy exclaimed, and Veronica chuckled to herself, knowing full well the air conditioning kept them nice and cool all the way here.

“I’m dying. I’m so hot!” Inara pressed the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically. “Maybe we can go there first? Before I expire?”

Veronica exchanged a glance with Logan and rolled her eyes. Cordy may have looked like Logan, but it was Inara who inherited his flair for the dramatics. Unfortunately, _actor_ seemed to be in her DNA.

“Well then, we’ll trade children,” Keith laughed, grabbing his travel mug from the outdoor kitchen he and Sandy had set up outside the old RV. “Veronica, we’ll leave Winston with you, if that’s all right, and we’ll take the kids. He’s a bit tuckered out from the hike we took him on this morning.”

At the sound of his name, Sir Winston, Keith’s old bulldog, raised his head from where he slept on the camping chair, letting out a small huff before lowering it again. When they first came camping, he was still spry, but age, and his chunky little body, meant he didn’t keep up like he used to.

“But Grandpa, I love him. Why can’t he come?” whined Inara, giving her grandfather even bigger puppy dog eyes than the actual dog.

“Let him nap, sweetheart, and by the time we get back, he’ll be up for playing again. Okay?”

“Okay,” she sighed, momentarily sad but changing her tune in a second. “Come on, Cordy! Let’s go!”

With that, the little adventurous girl darted across the gravel road and hopped the fence to the field. Veronica’s heart stopped for a second, before connecting double-time.

“Inara! That’s a road! Be careful!” she yelled, causing the girl to jump.

“Sorry, Mama! I got excited!”

Sandy came over and put her hand on Veronica’s shoulder. “I’ll go over the rules for the camp with them both when we get to the park.”

Gripping her chest, Veronica heaved a heavy sigh. “Thanks, Sandy. Maybe if it comes from Grandma, she’ll listen.”

Sandy laughed and patted her back as Cordy walked up and took her hand. “That’s because I’m not mom.”

As they crossed the street, Veronica watched her father approach Inara and crouch, gently admonishing her for running. The girl pouted but nodded her acceptance of whatever he was saying before he gave her a hug. 

“Glad she likes bright pink,” Logan said from behind Veronica, kissing the back of her head. “It will be easy to spot her when she runs off into the woods.”

“Oh, my God. You are sooooooo not helping.” She spun around and smacked him on the shoulder as he laughed.

“You may roll your eyes at me for Nara-bug’s dramatic flair, but the rest of her is all you.”

“Thankfully, Cordy is fairly sensible. Must be a trait from my father.”

Glancing back as the four crossed the field towards the playground in the distance, Veronica shook her head. Two city kids in the woods with their suburban-comfortable parents. What could go wrong?

* * *

**Logan**

* * *

Logan dropped a kiss onto Veronica’s forehead, gave her a friendly pat on the behind, and headed for the back of the Rover. 

“So, I put the tent in toward the back...I think we should put that up first, and then we’ll have someplace to put all the rest of the stuff.” He pressed his fob, and the rear hatch began to rise. “Work for you?”

“Yeah, sure, makes sense.” 

He stood for a moment, looking at the sheer multitude of items in the back of their vehicle.

“We’re only going to be out here for a few days; the amount of stuff it takes to camp with these kids is nuts.”

“I just wanted to make sure everyone would have plenty to do,” Veronica replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “This isn’t exactly the girls’ normal environment. I didn’t want them getting bored.”

Her defensive tone made him regret saying anything, and he reached out to slip his arm around her, pulling her closer and kissing the top of her head.

“I’m sure we’re all going to have an awesome time. You can just relax and soak in the peace and quiet of nature. ‘kay?”

She sighed and snuggled into him, wrapping both arms around his middle. Logan felt her head nod against his chest. “Okay. I just want everyone to have fun.”

“We will.” He leaned down to drop a soft kiss on her lips. “So, let’s get to this tent. If we hurry, maybe we can christen it before the wild bunch gets back here.”

Veronica laughed up at him. “By my recollection, we were extremely unsuccessful at that last time we camped, and we were only dodging Dad that time. If you think there is any sex to be had on this trip, you are sorely mistaken.”

“You underestimate my determination,” he replied, and pulled away, reaching into the rear hatch to pull out the tent box, which he balanced upright against the bumper, before pulling out one more item. “I think we’re going to need this too, sooner rather than later.”

Veronica laughed as she took the handle of the wheeled cooler he’d placed at her feet. “Starting your liquid sustenance early?”

Logan balanced the long box containing the tent over his shoulder, then moved into the campsite. “It’s warm out here. It doesn’t pay to get dehydrated.” 

He smiled at the snort of derision from his wife. Not an uncommon reaction, but for whatever reason, he enjoyed it, which is why he continued to set up these opportunities. He dropped the tent box onto the picnic table, and Veronica pulled the cooler up next to it, then sat on one of the attached benches. 

“Let me help you then,” she said, leaning to open the cooler and rummage through it. When she sat up again, she dangled a Corona between her fingers. “Sir?”

He chuckled at her officious tone. “Umm, no thanks, _ma’am_ , not yet, but a water would be nice.” She scoffed again, and he gave her an innocent smile. “Hydration is not a function of beer, no matter what Dick thinks.” 

“No matter what Dick thinks. Words to live by. Maybe we should put that on our family crest…maybe get it embroidered on a pillow.” Veronica traded the beer for water, setting it on the table beside them. Logan nodded his thanks, then pulled a small folding knife from his shorts pocket and began to cut open the tent box.

“Okay, so, why did we get a new tent?” she asked. “We used the last one exactly once.”

Logan grinned at her. “You may have forced me out of the 09, but I couldn’t put my children in last season’s tent, could I?”

“Yeah, right. And it wasn’t even last season’s tent, it was like...seven seasons ago’s tent. So, let’s hear it. You said you were going to get the tent out of storage, and I thought you had, but this one’s new. What gives?”

He let the tent slide out of the box onto the table, then grabbed the bag of accessories before it dropped to the ground. “I don’t think it matters that much. We just have a new one, okay?”

“But now we have two tents. Why do we need two tents?”

“We don’t, in fact, have two tents This—” He swept his hand over the tightly folded tent. “—lovely specimen is our solitary tent. Very nicely outfitted with two rooms, so we have a tiny bit of privacy from our little monsters, although the chances are excellent that they’ll both be in our double bag with us most of the night.”

“Yup. More evidence on my side of the ‘no sex’ debate.”

“We’ll see. So come on, let’s get going on this. The guy at REI claimed this model could be put up in three minutes.”

“That seems highly unlikely,” she said. “Was that why you bought a new one? Because it was easier to put up?”

“Umm, no.” He really hadn’t wanted to have this conversation, but he couldn’t lie.

“Logan…” she said in a warning tone, and he rolled his eyes.

“Okay, fine, but when you can’t unhear this, you better not blame me.” He sat across from her at the picnic table, catching her hands to hold over the tent. “So, yes, we did only use that tent once, and then folded it up and eventually stuck it in storage.”

“Uh-huh.”

“However, what I found when I went to get it was even though we weren’t using it, it did get some use.”

Veronica frowned. “Are you saying that homeless people are living in our storage unit?”

Logan laughed and shook his head. “Oh no, nothing like that. No homeless people. And by the way, it’s barely even our storage unit anymore. It was at first, and we do still pay the bill, but at this point, most of the stuff in it, really all of it once the tent wasn’t there anymore, is Dick’s.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Dick has three houses at his disposal. Why did he need to put stuff in a storage unit we were renting?”

He shrugged. “Same reason we got it in the first place, moving from one house to another, put stuff in there _temporarily_ and then never got around to moving that stuff later. Like I said, nothing else of ours is left in there, so I told him to get his stuff out in the next couple of weeks since we don’t need to keep renting the space.”

She sat back, pulling her hands free of his to press her fingers against her temples. “Is this the part of the conversation where I mock you for conspicuous, unnecessary spending?”

“Probably.”

“Okay, consider yourself, and your buddy, mocked. Now tell me what happened to our other tent.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.” He grabbed one of her hands and pulled it back to him, leaning to kiss her knuckles. “Okay, so, it’s like this. The box was kinda torn up, which seemed weird since I’m sure it had been fine when I put it in the storage unit. So I took the tent out of the box to make sure it was okay. But as it turned out, it wasn’t. There were several holes—” He used their clasped hands and his free hand to demonstrate a circle about six inches across. “—about like this big, and they looked kinda…chewed.”

“Ewwww!” Veronica pulled away again, her face tightening in disgust.

“I tried to spare you from this. Still wanna hear the rest?”

“Oh, God, there’s more?”

“Well, kinda, yeah.” Of course, she wanted to hear the rest. It really was a rhetorical question. When did Veronica Mars Echolls not want to hear everything? “The holes _were_ chewed, but they were full of other stuff too, making like little—”

“Nests,” she finished his sentence, and Logan nodded.

“Uh-huh.”

“Yuck.”

“That’s what I thought too.” He crinkled his nose at her, feeling a little bad for grossing her out, but it’s not like he hadn’t tried to avoid the conversation. “So, I tossed that one, warned Dick and told him to get his shit out, and then went to REI and bought us another tent. And that brings us to today, three minutes from the tent being up and ready for christening.”

Veronica gave a disbelieving laugh. “We were just talking about…ugh…rat nests…in our old tent, and you think I’m in the mood for a quickie in the new one?

“A man can dream.”

“Yeah, well, keep dreaming, buddy.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is only chapter one. Unlike our last little fic, we'll be splitting this one up into chapters. Please subscribe and stay tuned.


End file.
